Braga 1–2 Real Madrid: Victory Upon the Hillside
Real Madrid kept their perfect record at the group stage as they won 2–1 against Braga. The match shows on how both team uses several approach to outwit each other, with the victors having a leading edge.
First half: A battle of flexibility
The main theme of the first half is on how the two teams uses all weapons in their arsenal to carve each other’s defense.
Real first uses verticality to punish Braga’s flat defense. In the 7th minute, we can see Bellingham and Vinicius moving in an opposite direction to create space (countermovement). Dangerous opportunity can be created if Camavinga notices Vinicius’ run to the box. However, the French midfielder only notices Rodrygo during the moment.
Playing vertical allows 1v1s for Vinicius, and having a player who almost always wins a 1v1 is a massive advantage for the team. Real will reap its rewards afterwards.
Ancelotti often uses functional play (where the players moves according to the ball) so that the players can combine naturally. As we can see in the 26th minute, Modric and Bellingham are in sync (with the England midfielder move in opposite of the Croatian’s flow), which creates an opening for Vinicius.
Functional play also allows the players to progress the ball efficiently to the penalty area. In the 37th minute we can see the passing combinations between players results in a crossing opportunity.
Real also have plenty of solutions when building the ball from the back. The first one is to create a 8v5 advantage in the half of the pitch. Looking at a much smaller level, we can see a 5v3 on the right side and Modric positioning himself as a temporary fullback to attract the winger.
As the winger jumps, Rudiger has room to pass the ball to Camavinga, who flicks the ball to Valverde at the free space.
They patiently circulates the ball sideways until the winger (again) jumps to press Rudiger. This time, Carvajal and Modric did a good job positioning themselves at just the right angle. Rudiger then can find Modric, who then is able to find Carvajal (as the third man).
Braga, on the other side, applied a more straightforward strategy to counter Los Blancos, as they’re trying to attack the open space at the most efficient way possible.
For instance, at the 24th minute, the Portuguese club took advantage of Real’s lack of width (since they played in a diamond midfield) by finding the overlapping full-back with fery few passes. The left pivot (Carvalho) drops deep to collect the ball and then passing it to the right pivot (Al-Musrati). Al-Musrati then switches the ball onto the overlapping Mendes.
Real compensated the lack of width by making Valverde (and sometimes Bellingham) as a temporary full-back, forming a 5-man in the back.
Although they started the match in a 4–2–3–1 shape on paper, Braga defends in a 5–4–1 formation. As this formation have advantage on the width, they are able to occasionally stop Madrid from attacking by the wing. During this instance the Braga players are able to stop the 5-man overloads at the side of the pitch, forcing Garcia to switch the ball to the opposite area.
While both teams are able to pack a punch to each other, it was Real that scored the opening goal. Vinicius, who received an inch perfect long ball from Nacho, is able to beat Saatci with his explosiveness. Rodrygo gathers his speed by running behind Niakite… then bursts forward to meet Vinicius’ cross.
The score stays the same until the end of the first half: one nil for Real Madrid.
Second half: All about the margins
The second half exhibits a (supposedly) similar game, but there are some crucial changes that made a difference.
Real becomes more proactive at the wing, where Modric and Bellingham often drifts wide to support Vinicius out wide, forming a triangle in the process. They then rotate to open up Braga’s defense.
Also noticeable is the box midfield. To exploit Braga’s 5–2–3, the midfield diamond rotate so that the shape resembles a box (funnel to be more accurate). Hence, the two midfield lines are facing each other horizontally, allowing Real to progress the ball more efficiently.
They scored another goal in the 59th minute. Valverde regained the ball and ciriculates back to Kepa. Kepa circulates the ball to the left side, where the players overloads the left wing. The overload shifts the Braga defense to the left, opening up space to the right side.
Valverde capitalizes the open space by receiving the ball and pushing forward. Rodrygo also took advantage of the shifting defense, sneaking behind the unsuspecting Niakate. A failed cross requires Vinicius to collect the ball and incite a 1v1 situation.
Vinicius’ dribbling threats attract attention from multiple Braga players, one of which is Al-Musrati. Bellingham sensed the open space and attacked it (bad defending from Carvalho), managing to put the ball at the right bottom corner. One nil to Los Blancos.
Braga bites back right after the kick-off. They circulated the ball back to the goalkeeper, and started building up from the back. The build up manages to shift Los Blancos’ defense to the right side.
Al-Musrati positions himself at the open space, which makes Real severely lacking players at the left side. Rodrygo didn’t react quickly, and Braga is able to progress the ball well. The Libyan midfielder then progresses the ball to the wing, forming a triangle between Mendes and Banza.
The attack continues as Mendes crosses the ball to the penalty area. Banza recieved the ball and did a decent job holding the ball behind the back. He then passed to Djalo, who exploits the open space and smashed it onto the bottom corner.
As the wing proved to be a vulnerable area for Real, they tweaked their tactics a little bit by making Vinicius dropping back to cover it. Therefore, Braga had a harder time switching the ball to the wing.
After conceding yet another chance, Ancelotti decided to introduce Tchouameni for Rodrygo, and Ferland for Garcia. This tactical switch offers more protection in behind, while still allowing Real to bite back during counter attacks.
Real almost scored another goal at the 81st minute. Bellingham receives the ball with back facing goal (this will benefit Vinicius afterwards), and bounces the ball back to Camavinga. The French midfielder then delivers an inch perfect lofted pass to Vinicius, for which the №7 player has time and space to slot the ball to the net. However, the goal was disallowed.
Braga, in pressure to find the equalizing goal, had a decent chance in the final minutes of the game. Lack of coverage (Camavinga running straight into the passer instead of blocking the passing lane) allows Horta to be free. Tchouameni then have to cover for the mistake, giving space and time for Ruiz.
However, his shot goes off the bar, and the score stays the same until the final whistle.
Takeaways: Talent makes the difference
Braga did well to attack Real’s weak spots (the wing), using efficient attacking schemes. Their flexible defense also — sometimes — stopped Real from breaking through. On the other side, Real also have multiple ways to bypass its opponent.
What made the difference at the game is the individuals. Vinicius proved himself as a lethal threat at the wing, while Bellingham never disappoints with his decent positioning.
